body. mind. soul.

November 03, 2012

Chafing, according to Google's definition is "to make sore by rubbing" against an article of clothing, for example. In my case the chafing occurred as a result of rubbing skin. That's right! I decided it would be a great idea to go for a run in the middle of the day when the temperatures where in the 80's. Why not? It was hotter in GTMO at 7:00 AM and I ran plenty there.

Difference? Being prepared. Nothing feels more uncomfortable than to feel your skin burning while you're running and knowing full well that you still need to go home. When the burning begins two miles into the run and you have at least one mile before you can feel relief, it hits you. This is going to SUCK!!

Sweat drips from all over the place and every drop feels like fire. It's like pouring salt or lemon juice on an open wound, over and over and over again. What the HECK was I thinking???

I finished a three mile run in 31 minutes. Probably the slowest run since I started seriously running three years ago. Shameful is what that was but at the time, the pace was not of concerned since I still had to get home and it didn't matter if I ran or walked, it was going to burn just the same. I ran for a bit pulling my pants down between my legs, surely that must have looked interesting to the motorists. Then I adopted this side to side hop/run thing to help keep my thighs from touching each other and causing further damage.

Oh it gets better... I finally made it home, almost in tears. First things first... a shower. Of course, right, that should be a huge relief...yup.... EXCEPT when you soap up immediately and realize that the soap feels like someone just poured lemon juice in your eyes! Did I mention this was a great run through a beautiful lake with awesome paved and unpaved trails? Really, it was.

Anyway, I finally got myself cleaned up and decided it would be best to wear long pants to protect my hurting skin. I little baby powder and it felt much better. So what happened? This is not my first run in any temperature, what went wrong?

#1 I did not even think about preparing for my run. Preparing means drinking lots of fluids (and by fluids I mean water) the night before, having clothes, shoes, socks, sports bra AND my anti-chafing stick ready.

#2 I spent the morning unpacking, sitting, standing and feeling defeated. The run came in when I felt like I was going to jump out of my first floor window. I realized I needed to go do something physically active that would help me think, refocus...so it was totally an impulse run, still.... the anti-chafing stick, hello?!?

Lessons Learned:

#1 Prepare, plan, stick the routine, keep your gear organized. That way there is never an excuse to not go running or worse yet, to end up running and with chafed inner thighs.

Running... well, I have a new goal. Can I just act like a teenager who just found out she's going to see the latest teen idol (whomever he is these days, I'm so out of it now that my teen is away at college).... OMG, OMG, OMG.... I'm going to be a princess in February!! Tee hee hee hee!! Woot! Woot! I gotta text my BFF!! OK there. WOW a lot of words and nothing concrete was ever said. What I'm trying to say is that I am going to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando next February. YUP! I signed up, I will make my travel plans shortly and I will be meeting some of my awesome and inspirational friends in Florida to run 13.1 miles just because we can and I am thrilled to have a goal, and this is a huge goal for me.

OK. There now. Go get excited about your goals. I don't care how small you think they are. Own them. They are YOUR goals.

My training will begin in a few weeks but in the mean time I will continue running a few days a week just to keep up the routine and trust me, I will never again run without using my anti-chafing stick. By the way, you can also use any deodorant that is not a gel or spray. It has to be the white deodorant most people avoid because of the clumping and stripes it leaves on your clothes. Trust me, it works, I rub that anywhere skin touches skin or sports bra touches skin.

I will keep you posted on my progress. If you're working on whatever... share it! Tell me about it!

August 24, 2012

We are back from the island. WOW the last three years were the most memorable, active, engaging, and best years in our military career. They really were.

Have you ever been someplace you couldn't get enough of, but at the same time, you couldn't wait to leave?

That's sort of how GTMO was for us. We moved to Cuba in the fall of 2009 not knowing at all what to expect, except that it was going to be different than any other duty station. I could not find any information online about what it was like to live there, which was frustrating as we were moving with kids and I really needed to know more, but that wasn't the case. Just about anything out there concerning Guantanamo Bay relates only to the Detainee Camps. That is not what it's all about. But I'm not going to try and cover it all in my first post back on this site. If you really want to learn more, read my blog Our Life In Guantanamo Bay and start at the beginning. That's the first thing I did when we arrived. I created a blog to help others learn about life in GTMO. The blog was a huge success and I met many wonderful people who moved to Cuba knowing a little more than we did.

While living in GTMO we were engaged in so many activities that it was hard not to stay in shape. You have to really want to not do anything because there was something for everyone, every age, every level. Before leaving the states I was teaching fitness and trying out a few new things. I felt so accomplished.

Then I went to Cuba and started teaching Bootcamp, SPIN, Pilates. OK well I was doing that before. But then I met some friends and started running again. Both of them accoplished marathon runners and me. NOT good. But they didn't give up on me and they "allowed" me to walk when I needed to. I didn't like slowing them down so I worked hard to run through those hills but they pulled me back and said "just walk the hills, your run time will be about the same, you'll do great." Then I started doing 5Ks, 10Ks, 1/2 marathon and before long I realized I was no longer walking those hills.

There were no specific expectation from anyone, just me not willing to be the slow one and me really enjoying the time spent with my friends during those runs. I was most proud when I started running alone or with my dog and still managed to feel great and exceed my own limits.

Now I'm back in the states and I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone out running. I'm not happy about that because now I'm not teaching, I'm not diving, not Kayaking or playing Soccer, I'm really not doing anything that even comes close to my level of activity when we were still in Cuba. More than anything, I miss the natural energy and desire I had for running. The temperature and environment are definitely better here so I really have no excuse. Except that I'm stressed. This has been the hardest move for us and while I realize that running will help manage stress, it is that stress that is eating up my motivation to run.

I know what I need to do. I know running will help me manage stress. I know once I'm out there I will be happy, I will enjoy it and I will get my mojo back. But that's just it. Everyday I get up early because I'm going to run and everyday I end up not running because I'm tired, didn't sleep well, I feel achy. I have never whined so much.

I decided to write about my lack of motivation because maybe I need a little external push. If I see it in writing I'll realize how ridiculous my excuses are. I'm taking action. I have to.

1. I will find a 5K and sign up.

2. I will set up some goals for the week--write them down and tell my family. I need to be accountable to someone other than me.

3. I will keep a log of what I eat on MyFitnessPal.com and Set up some running goals on Nike+ Running.

4. I will be back!!!

I'm fighting my way back and I know it will be worth it.

Have you fallen off your fitness wagon? What are you doing to get it back?

January 21, 2010

Walking has to be the cheapest, safest, easiest form of physical exercise out there. It is a great way to start a fitness program without actually paying gym fees or going to a gym, can be done with family, friends, kids on bikes or strollers, etc. Did I mention it was free? It is, unless you feel the urge to purchase cute walking outfits and cool walking shoes; which is not such a bad idea. Still cheaper then gym fees.

Since I moved I have taken up walking with my toddler in the stroller and my young peanut on her bike. My walks become runs every now and again when the peanut decides to go far ahead of me and I have to catch up. Try doing that uphill with a 30 lb kid in the stroller! Ouch on the bum and legs is what you'll be saying.

I have to admit though, that this walking thing is really giving me some great quality time with the kids and often with myself. I love to listen to music and when I'm at home I can't always turn up the radio and forget the world because inevitably, the moment I do, someone wants to have a conversation with me and if I say not now then I'm being mean. I know, I'm a terrible mom for desiring to sing out loud! Ugh!!

Anyway, because I love my music and don't mind the walks I find myself looking forward to walking everyday and when I don't or can't I look longingly at the street in front of my house and wish I was there and not here sitting on my ever expanding behind, reading or writing or waiting for the nap to be over. OK my behind is not expanding because I was fortunate enough to get my mother's genes which dictate that I gain weight from the waist up - oh yeah that's always fun. I do have some control over that now that I've started my push up challenge and will soon add the sit up challenge to the mix. That's right, got to nip it in the butt or is it bud? Hmmm - American idioms get me every time. I should just stay away from them.

So, I have the whole food thing under control, again - yay for me!! Until I start spinning (hopefully soon) I am walking and doing push ups with the kids. The changes I'm making are having a positive impact on my body and mind. Physically I feel more energized, mentally I feel rested. And with my last semester just getting started, I need all the physical and mental energy I can get!

November 10, 2009

The Noland Trail in Virginia. I went for a walk with the kids only to realize this was a five mile trail. There was no way out, we had to finish the walk/run/skip/jump/race. We had a great time!

Hey, yes it is. It's Monday and time to get back on that 'ole wagon again. Skip the treadmill, jump on the elliptical; skip those light 10 lbs weights and go for 12 or maybe even 15. Why not? Just get out there and do it!!

OK well, maybe it's not so simple to just jump into a fitness routine after being gone for a while so let's back it up a bit.

Your average person exercises because they have to; whether they do it to get in shape for a race, to lose weight, to improve health or reduce stress; it is an act that must be done or we pay the consequences. But what happens to our psyche when we skip a day and then another and another....

First we say it's just one day. I need a break anyway. Ha!

Then after a few days we say we needed a longer break and we can always start back up Monday, right? WRONG!

Monday comes around and a list of events falls from the sky and lands right on on our laps. Oh no, now we have to shampoo the rug, cut the grass, the kids are sick, blah blah blah.... can we come up with more excuses? Of course.

But now we've missed an entire week and we know that going back is going to hurt so we find other reasons why we wont go exercise and that one week turns into one month and then three months.

Cut the excuses out of your vocabulary and realize that this is not a chore or a task you do then resent having done it. Your exercise should be fun, enjoyable, and something you look forward to doing everyday.

Get out there and enjoy the weather, enjoy nature, take the kids, take the dog, invite your friends. Get on a bike or push the stroller and have a great time. You wont even know you're exercising but in the end you will feel happy and the kids, well they will remember these days more than anything. Trust me, I know!

This was the view at the end of our walk. Breathtaking, isn't it?

So what are you waiting for? You know the challenge to not gain weight over the holidays is still on and first on my list of things to do is FITNESS! So let's get to it. In or out of the house, it doesn't really matter if you're at the local park or in your back yard collecting leaves. Every minute you spend being active counts and before you know it, that minute becomes five minutes, then ten...etc. You get my drift.

How many miles do you think you'll walk, run, bike or skate this week? How many minutes?

April 24, 2009

I think everyone can agree that we all get in a workout rut every once in a while. I realized that I'm there and that I've been doing is just not giving me the results I want. I think I'm doing plenty, but it is obviously not the quantity of my workouts that's holding me back but the quality and so I need to make some changes. For a little while there I used my Little Bear as my excuse, "I have some baby fat to burn off, but he's only six months old, I have time" I recall telling myself. It is a really bad idea to even START using the pregnancy and the birth of a baby as a crutch or as a reason why we hold on to excess body fat. Soon the child is getting ready to graduate High School and we're still claiming baby fat. Well, Little Bear is now 2.5 years old and the oldest is 18 with a 15 and a 6 year old in between. Luckily, I kept off most of whatever I gained during pregnancy. My focus is now on losing body fat and trimming down the inches and not so much on the number on that cranky scale. I'm not a good friend of the scale so I will stick with a tape measure instead.

My fitness routine on most weeks includes Boot Camp, Muscle Conditioning, Spinning®, Turbo Kickboxing, and Pilates. I say most weeks because when I don't teach or train someone I CHOOSE to stay home and catch up on my chores, homework, sleep, etc… And there it is, the culprit and the reason I'm not getting results. Did you catch the operative words—MOST WEEKS. I have to commit to go workout on days when I don't have to teach, regardless of what else needs to be done at home. Chances are the chores will still be there waiting. Besides, if I had to teach or meet a client I would have to go, right? Right!!

My other issues are that I sometimes go off track with my eating habits, I stay up late and get up early, and lately, I have not been writing anything down as I should. Did I mention stress? I have a few things that add unnecessary stress to my life. Let's see now, we are a military family expecting orders to move mid-school year – no, not crazy about that; we have a house to sell; I'm taking classes online (what was I thinking?); our oldest is going AWAY to college and did I mention we have a 15 year old girl? Yikes! What happened to my little girl? It can all be handled, I just have to get organized, re-evaluate and set some realistic goals. Here are some things I know I need to do:

WRITE IT DOWN! A goal has to be on a paper, on the calendar, journal, or on the fridge door. Once it's written down I am accountable and more likely to stick with it.

It is important to set realistic goals. In other words, I can't just write that I want to lose 15 pounds by next Friday and expect it to happen, at least not following a healthy routine. I am willing to trim down at a much slower pace because I want it to stay off. I also don't want to lose muscle mass just body fat and inches.

I will be prepared to succeed every day. This means, don't leave home without my water and healthy snacks such as a fruit, protein bar, nuts, etc. I will pack my gym bag and have my workout clothes ready every day. Sometimes I wait to the last minute (procrastinate) then I end up stressing if I can't find my shorts or my shoes.

Re-visit the fridge, freezer and pantry. There are some pesky snacks left over from a party that need to go. I must eliminate the temptation and replace them with healthy snacks—again!

This is my week to evaluate my fitness, nutrition, stress, and sleep. To reach my goals I have to get them down on paper, give myself the time it takes to get there, eliminate some of the stressors in my life, and get some well-needed sleep. I'm excited and energized by seeing my plan on paper or on screen in this case. I hope this list will give you a boost to get started on your goals as well, try mine or tell me about yours…I'd like to know what you are doing or plan to do to reach your fitness goals.